The Bite of a Snake
by summerbaytroubles
Summary: Larissa Diaz, otherwise known as the beautiful yet snakelike assassin Copperhead, had one weakness - The Joker. She was ready to risk everything for him, and he was ready to let her. But one mission resulted in Larissa locked up with a broken heart after the man she loved betrayed her with ease. Her heart froze, she's turned into a stone cold killer after revenge - after blood.
1. Chapter 1 - Ultimate Betrayal

_quick author's note: this story will feature Harley Quinn eventually, but it's not circulated mainly around her and The Joker. Larissa comes before The Joker's relationship with Harley Quinn. So if you're looking for The Joker x Harley, this isn't the one! enjoy.._

 _..._

The rain was pounding on Larissa's body, leaving her dark brown locks to stick to her face in coils. It was dark outside and the sky was pretty much black, but she didn't care. She was with the man that she loved, and he had promised to keep her safe as they prepared for the most dangerous mission they had done so far.

He promised.

She believed him.

"So when we get onto the roof and we get the signal, what do we do again? Remind me," Larissa smiled as she crawled over to where The Joker sat. They were sitting in the police helicopter that his henchman had previously hijacked. The Joker looked down into her slightly golden orbs and reached out to her with longing eyes, placing his hand underneath her chin and gently squeezing her cheeks.

"We run baby, we run," he muttered with his jaw firmly clenched down. Larissa bit her bottom lip and let out a little giggle.

"As long as you run with me I'll be okay," she whispered, taking her hand in both of hers and slowly moving it from her face to press light kisses on his chunky rings. "You will run with me, won't you?" The Joker simply smiled down at her and slapped his hands upon lap, giving Larissa the opportunity to hop up onto her feet and settle herself there instead.

"Baby…when have I ever…lied to you?" he drawled, still looking deep into her eyes. Larissa gave an innocent shrug and ran her fingers through her hair, making sure her chest was protruding through her tight dark orange leotard.

"Hmmmm. Never," she murmured down to him with a smile.

"Exactly," The Joker sighed as the helicopter began to sway to the left slightly. It was time. "Are ya ready honey?" he growled, pressing a hungry kiss to her soft lips.

"I'm ready baby," Larissa sang as she peppered kisses all over his face. "Let's go cause some destruction." She hopped off of his lap, grabbing the hairband from around her wrist and swiftly tying her hair up in a ponytail so that it would be easier for her to move. The Joker sat there and watched her in silence, running his tongue over his bottom lip as he watched her prepare herself for whatever was ahead.

Little did she know.

The helicopter was now dipping lower and lower, aiming to land on the roof of the bank under the murky night sky. Larissa slowly approached the open helicopter door, letting the wind blow over her. The Joker stood up, walking up to stand behind Larissa with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She sighed once she felt his touch, totally in bliss whilst in his embrace. She felt so safe when she was with him, it was almost impossible to explain.

"Let's do it," he muttered, gently nipping her earlobe. "On three." Larissa nodded, more than ready for this.

"Okay."

"One, two!" Before Larissa knew it, The Joker had shoved her out of the helicopter door, leaving her to free fall onto the roof which was further away than it looked. Obviously, Larissa was trained enough to deal with what to do. She was a well-known snake-like assassin with experienced years of flipping, crawling and generally being insanely flexible and light on her feet. That's why she was almost impossible to catch.

As soon as she saw the roof get closer, Larissa outstretched out her hands so that it collided with the concrete that paved the roof. As soon as her hands made contact, she bounced off and did a forward flip and a cartwheel whilst her body propelled forward before safely landing on her feet, upright. She spun around with a hugely beating heart, prepared to not see The Joker or any of his henchmen there – but she was pleasantly relieved as she watched The Joker swiftly jump from the rope that was swinging from somewhere inside of the helicopter and land on his feet as well.

"Why so serious?" he cackled once he had seen the relief on her face. He held his hand out to her and Larissa leapt over to him so that she could take it.

"I thought you left me," she panted. The Joker let out another small chuckle.

"No no," he tutted. "That bit comes…later…" Larissa opened her mouth to ask what he meant but suddenly – there was a loud honk of a horn from the road below them.

"That's the signal," she breathed.

"Scale the building and get down there, I'll be there waiting for you on the ground next to the truck," The Joker hissed, running his hands down her back and over her curves. Larissa bit her lip, unsure, but pulled herself together and turned around. She ran across the roof and pelted herself off the side, scaling the building as if it was an everyday event. She didn't even need climbing equipment, she moved like a reptile with such ease. It was dark and she couldn't see a thing, her body was twisting and turning regardless and she knew that she was closer to the ground. She was that much closer to running away with the man she loved.

Suddenly, something pierced into her ribcage. Larissa hissed out in pain, unsure of what had stopped her like that. The shock of it sent her flying off the brick wall of the bank, leaving her to fall straight onto the pavement below with a prominent crack of her bones. She still landed on her feet – but the pain was shooting through her with such intensity that she could do nothing less than writher around on the floor.

"J-JOKER!" she managed to scream as loudly as she could, blindly running her hands around her body to try and find what had hit her. Her fingers suddenly ran over something sharp that was sticking out in her side. "Mierda," she swore in Spanish, taking a deep breath before swiftly yanking it out. She gasped as she laid eyes on it and immediately knew what it was – a giant Batarang, covered on one side with her dark blood.

"Copperhead," came a deep growl from somewhere above her. Larissa looked up with murky eyesight as she began to lose consciousness, to see a large black figure looming over her. She didn't need to see him properly to know who it was.

"Great," she mumbled, feeling her mouth quickly fill up with blood. "It's you." Batman yanked her up by her shoulders and roughly pinned her to the wall. Larissa spat the blood out so that it sprayed all over Batman's face, giggling afterwards.

"Where's the rest of you?" he asked roughly. "I know you didn't do a bank heist alone. That's too much even for you." Larissa let out a sarcastic chuckle and turned her head to where she knew the truck was waiting – but was completely dazed to see her love, her beautiful Joker throw the last bag of money into the truck's open doors as two of his henchmen got in the front of the car.

"BABY!" Larissa screamed at the top of her lungs as Batman spun her around and held her against the wall face first instead.

The Joker looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. He suddenly jumped in the back of the truck with the rest of the cash, eyesight still locked with her. Larissa felt everything slow down completely. She could hear the blood rush in her ears and she felt her pulse increase. Surely this could not be happening. "No," she whimpered, feeling her eyes well up with tears. Her eyes silently begged The Joker not to leave her.

The Joker simply gave her a salute before bursting out into peals of manic laughter and slamming the door shut again, giving the drivers the signal to speed off into the distance, tyres screeching on the road.

Larissa felt her heart smash into pieces as she fell limp and allowed Batman to cuff her and waited for the police to arrive. She was bait. For the past four months, she was always going to be bait. Was anything he said real? Did any of his kisses mean anything at all? She didn't know and God knows she didn't care. Her broken heart had already hardened. She would go to prison, she would play along. But she wanted revenge, she wanted answers. She lusted for it, she thirsted for it.

She wanted blood.

…

 **A/N: I am already obsessed with this story. If you guys aren't sure, Copperhead is a villain from the DC universe. If you look up 'Copperhead Trailer Batman' on YouTube, you'll get an idea of just how flexible she is. She's so badass, so I hope this story will do her justice! (You can envision either Joker for this, Heath Ledger's or Jared Leto, it doesn't matter!) Tell me what you think! - J**


	2. Chapter 2 - Unbearable Pain

Larissa hunched into a ball at the back of the police van, feeling her head split into a different emotions. On one hand, she was dazed and confused. She was so sure that he was going to come back for her, she was convinced that it was all an awkward dream and that she would be reunited with him any minute now.

Any second now.

Or not.

On the other hand, she knew exactly what had happened. She had been played, she was nothing more than another piece in his chess board. That's all. She didn't mean anything to him, did she?

Did she?

She would never know.

The police van came to an abrupt halt outside of what looked like hell in the form of a large brick building. There were layers of barbed wires surrounding the barren courtyard, and the huge prison floodlights broke through the night sky. Larissa glanced past the barred van window and felt her stomach do a flip as one of the police officers opened the door and yanked her out by her arms. Larissa would've fought back on a normal day – but this wasn't a normal day. As she allowed herself to be carried out of the van, her mind floated back to the first time The Joker had ever saved her from the arms of the law.

…

-FLASHBACK-

 _5 months earlier_

"Well!" Officer Larken chuckled as his grips on the top of Luna's arms got tighter. "For once, we don't have a struggler!" Luna let her head hang so that the smirk on her lips was covered. She wasn't fighting because she knew which bit came next.

She knew this plan off by heart.

Officer Larken was a big burly man with a slimy touch – he had been after Copperhead for as long as he could remember. Now he had finally caught her, he wasn't planning to let her go. He marched her toward the guarded prison doors, surrounded by armed men with their loaded guns pointed to her head in case she tried anything dodgy. "Got anything to say for yourself, Copperhead?" he hissed before entering. Larissa looked up and gave him small smile.

"You are soooo…dead," she whispered with the tiniest of giggles. Larken furrowed his hairy eyebrows at her and opened his mouth to ask what she meant when suddenly, they were surrounded by the violent sound of gun shots. Larissa let out a proper laugh and fluttered her eyes shut, taking a deep breath through her nose and embracing the atmosphere of chaos around her. Larken could only watch in horror as every single one of his armed men went down one by one, bullets whizzing straight through their chests and skulls, blood spurting from every angle. Larissa cracked one eye open and waited for it – the beautiful noise that was like music to her ears.

"HA, HA, HA, HAAAAAA," came the manic laugh from somewhere behind them. Larken and Larissa spun round to see The Joker approaching them. He had a machine gun sitting comfortably in his arms and his lusting eyes locked with Larissa's enticing murky green ones. "You got this baby?" he growled with a smirk. Larissa turned to Larken and raised an amused eyebrow.

"Told youuuu," she whispered, before jumping into the air and landing comfortably on Larken's shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his neck and quickly jerked her body to the left, which swiftly snapped Larken's neck and killed him instantly. Larken's lifeless body dropped to the floor. Larissa was left standing on his chest with a strangely sympathetic look on her face as The Joker slowly applauded her. "Strangely enough, I was kinda warming up to him," she hummed. The Joker grinned and held out his hand so that Larissa could take it and daintily step over the corpse to the love of her life.

"Ya did great," he growled into her ear, one hand rested on her hip and the other still gripping the gun. "Did ya think I wasn't gonna come?"

"I had my doubts," Larissa admitted with a smirk, resting her own hands on his chest.

"Never doubt me. If you doubt me, you're technically doubting yourself," The Joker drawled. Larissa blinked at him, soaking up his words like a sponge. She didn't realise how far she had already fallen for him but she really wasn't complaining. She knew he was her protector – even though she could protect herself.

…

 _NOW_

Larissa felt her eyes well up with involuntary tears as the armed security shoved her forward into the prison territory. It smelt like a mix of dirt and sweat, the air was muggy and in the distance was the sound of prisoners yelling and banging their fists against the cell doors. Larissa glanced around her and mentally took in all of the factors that she would need to remember for escaping when she was ready. She had done it plenty of times before, it wasn't a problem.

But she needed the time out first.

She saw this imprisonment as a time to get herself together, emotionally and mentally. Before she had met The Joker, she was the most hard-core, careless assassin that Gotham had ever seen. He had softened her up and turned her into something that she never thought she would be.

"Copperhead," came a booming voice from somewhere above her. "Look at me." Larissa didn't look up. She didn't want to. She felt like her energy was slowly draining from her body. The guard closest to her grabbed her dark wavy hair in a rough ponytail and yanked it back, so that she was now face to face with the voice. Larissa gasped as she felt tears spring to her eyes from the sudden pain. "Ah there you are." There were a long set of stairs going up to a single metal door and the top of stairs was a short man in a suit. He had thick black glasses on and a bold disposition. He looked like a man not to be messed with.

"Stone," Larissa whimpered, shoving her teeth into her bottom lip in an attempt to slow down the tears. David Stone, the owner of Arkham, had her on his hitlist for as long as she could remember. Being face to face with his smug little face was the last thing she wanted today.

"Well. We've finally caught you," Stone called out, turning his head to the side in what looked like mock sympathy. "This, is exciting. No Joker to save you this time? I heard he…left you?" Larissa squeezed her eyes shut and bit back her sobs. Stone let out a chuckle. "Look at me, Copperhead. I want you to look at me. **OPEN YOUR EYES**." The same guard that had yanked her hair immediately prised one of her eyelids open with his thumb and forefinger. He guessed that Larissa was particularly sensitive in her eyes, since her whole persona and build was based on a snake. She let out a scream of pain and her eyes shot open, forcing her to look straight at the man in front of her.

"You've got me now," she panted, her energy draining straight out of her body at this point.

"I asked you a question?" Stone frowned.

"WHAT?" Larissa hissed.

"Did, he, leave you?"

"Yes, yes he left me." Stone sighed, looking more than pleased with that answer.

"Well then. Looks like you're stuck here. Welcome to Arkham," he grinned sarcastically, outstretching his arms. "Is there anything we can do for you here?" Larissa pulled herself together and forced out a nod with the last bit of energy she had.

"Yeah. I just want beams in my cell. Just wooden planks across each other in the ceiling, for me to climb. That's it," she whispered shakily, the pain getting too much. She knew that she could heal but it was taking longer than expected.

"Oh like hell we will," one of the other security guards growled.

"Why should we give her anything?" the guard that was practically torturing her asked his boss, spittle flying from his mouth hitting Larissa's cheek. "She killed Larken. Just cos she got betrayed by the crazy one, doesn't mean we should give her sh-" That did it.

Larissa exploded.

She twisted her wrists, getting straight out of the handcuffs that supposedly restrained her. In the space of a second, she swiftly grabbed the closest weapon to her, which was the taser in the guard's belt. Stone simply watched with his eyebrows raised as Larissa grabbed the guard's neck with one arm and shoved the taser into his mouth with the other. Stone held out his hand to the guards so that they didn't shoot her. He was strangely curious.

"Either you give me what I want, or I'll kill your right hand man here, just like I killed Larsen," Larissa threatened him, looking dead into his eyes as the officer struggled to get out of her surprisingly tight grip.

"What would I get out of complying with YOUR demands when you're MY prisoner?" Stone questioned her. His head was thinking a hundred thoughts a minute. He couldn't figure out why she wanted the beams so much. Was this all some elaborate plan so that she could hide in there and then kill the first thing to walk into her cell?

"Fine, I won't escape this prison if you give me the damn beams in my cell," Larissa compromised casually, not breaking eye contact. "I won't escape and I won't kill this guy. Those are my two terms. It's not too much to ask."

"Don't do it," the hostage officer yelped, even though he was sweating like crazy and his voice was muffled from the weapon touching his throat. "She won't do a thing, boss. She's all talk." Stone knew that Larissa wasn't all talk. He knew what she could do – he had seen it in the case files and with his own eyes. "Boss, don't give her-" Larissa rolled her eyes and held down the buttons, automatically tasering the man and sending sharp electric currents straight down his body, leaving him to drop and writher on the floor. He was dying. She dropped the taser as the rest of the guards pointed their guns closer to her head instead.

"Now, you only have one term to work with," she shrugged, feeling the strength slowly flow back to her body. Stone raised an eyebrow and turned around.

"Give her the damn beams!" he waved them off. "Then knock her the hell out."

 **A/N: WOW so thank you so much for your lovely reviews and messages. I wasn't going to introduce The Joker properly until later on in the story but actually, I think it's a good idea to keep in little flashbacks of their relationship. But I thank you so much anyway. Copperhead's pretty badass and I love writing about her! - J**


	3. Chapter 3 - Strange Requests

Larissa attempted to fix her hair in the reflection of the one piece of dirty glass that she had stuck on the brick cell wall. She looked a mess and it was getting on her nerves, but she couldn't do anything about it with no brush or comb to sort herself out. Distantly she heard the sound of footsteps trudging down the hall and the clicking of guns - it was clearly that time again. She swiftly scaled the wall to wait in the rafters whilst remaining hidden in the shadows, losing patience already. The door whacked open, the heavy metal clanging against the stone wall and a guard looked around with his machine gun raised in defence. He looked petrified, but kept a firm grip on the weapon in his hands. "DIAZ!" he helped suddenly. Larissa stayed silent, still hidden in the shadows. "I'm not here to play games. I know you're hiding. Get, OUT." Larissa waited a few seconds, enjoying seeing the fear on the guard's face. She already had the upper hand in the conversation – in fact she already had the upper hand over him.

"What's your name, soldier?" Larissa finally called out from above him. He jumped at her sudden words, aiming the gun in the direction of her voice. He still couldn't see her and it was beginning to bother him more than he thought it would.

"I'm not here to converse with you Dias!" he shouted shakily, as his eyes darted from left to right in his desperate ache to locate her.

"Answer the question," Larissa hissed. She was getting closer to him, he could feel it.

"W-West, but that's none of your concern," he stuttered, attempted to take control. Larissa silently slid down the wall behind him before forward rolling toward him and innocently tapping his shoulder. West spun around at the speed of lightening with the barrel of the gun posed right in her face. She raised an eyebrow and stared at him intently as he carefully lowered it down, his eyes locked firmly with hers.

"Oh it will always be my concern," she whispered, tapping his nose playfully. "Well…West! You're far too pretty to be a soldier," she pouted. West looked away uncomfortably.

"No contact," he muttered as if he had studied the rules of this prison off by heart. His aqua blue eyes suddenly met her light green ones again.

"Oh we all know that those rules don't actually apply here," Larissa breathed as she rolled herself away from him again until she was a reasonable distance away from him. West swallowed and followed her movements with his eyes intently. "Where's Larker?"

"It's Larken. And you killed him," he grunted.

"Oh yes. I almost forgot. So you're his replacement and they sent you here...alone?" Larissa giggled playfully.

"Oh, I have back up waiting right outside this cell door, so don't try anything funny because they will kill you before you could even think about laying a finger on me," West warned her with danger lingering in his voice. Larissa raised an eyebrow again.

"Rightttttt. So, why are you here anyway? Got a little...surprise for me?"

"No," West muttered shortly. He cleared his throat and stood up a little straighter. "No, but you do have a visitor."

"A visitor?" Larissa laughed lightly in disbelief. "Oh please. Sir, nobody visits me." She glanced behind her shoulder and threw a teasing smile his way.

"Well believe it. She's in the meeting room as we speak," West nodded, chucking his thumb behind him in the direction of the now locked metal door. Larissa turned around properly and crossed her legs, staring at him.

"I need a mirror and a brush," she then hummed. "Could you put that order through? A mirror and a brush?"

"Dias. Out," West rolled his eyes as he approached her with handcuffs. Larissa stayed seated and raised her hands with her slim wrists side by side.

"Will you untie me afterwards?" she asked with the tiniest of smiles. West glanced up to her and couldn't help but smirk to himself as he tightly locked her hands in with a grimace. Larissa loved it, every minute of it. This is what The Joker had taught her how to do – trap people.

"I'll do my best," West muttered, standing up straight again.

…

 _FLASHBACK_

\- 5 months earlier -

"Sweetcheeks? Can I ask you a question?" The Joker hummed one evening as his henchmen counted the numerous wads of cash from his recent hijack. Larissa cocked her head to the side and nodded.

"Go ahead baby."

"How do you…get what you want…?" The Joker growled, leaning forward in his chair slightly. Larissa looked up at him from where she was sitting on the floor in between his legs.

"I don't know. I kill?" she tried, resting her chin on one of his knees. The Joker let out a laugh and Larissa frowned, unsure of what was so funny.

"No no no. It doesn't have to be so…messy. I mean messy is FUN, but there are quicker solutions," he hissed, grabbing her face with one hand and squeezing her cheeks lightly. Larissa blinked her golden-green orbs at him.

"How?" she sighed, a little lost in his own eyes.

"You put on a cute voice, flutter those pretty round eyes and you get the job done. You…be yourself," The Joker practically whispered, bringing her face closer to his. "Trust me. They will melt, like butter for you." Larissa giggled and nodding, taking in his every word.

"Gotcha. Did you melt for me?" she asked him innocently.

"Oh baby, cant ya tell? I'm still melting," The Joker grinned back lowly before roughly smashing her lips against his.

…

 _NOW_

"DIAS. Up!" Larissa stood up properly in the space of a second, eyes still locked with his. West took the chains that were connected to the handcuffs in his own hands and firmly tugged them so that she was walking along behind him, out of the cell and down the dark stone hallways. Prisoners from their individual cells watched her walk by though the slots in their cell doors and gave her a host of catcalls and whistles.

"Soak it up boys, one day you won't have any lips to whistle with!" Larissa announced them as she continued to sashay down the hallway.

"Hey good looking - come into my cell! No bed though - all I have is the ground," one burly guy yelled with a chuckle.

"I'll send you beneath the ground," Larissa trilled back just as cheekily. But when West glanced behind his shoulder - he saw that her face was deadly serious.

Larissa was shocked to find a girl that she didn't know waiting for her in the meeting room. She studied her as she walked towards the table - she had shimmering blue eyes and tangled but long dark brunette hair. Pretty girl, but not obviously so. Young, 16 or 17. Freckles, but again not obvious. It was going to be an interesting discussion because Larissa had no idea what she wanted. Larissa slowly sat herself down on the uncomfortable wooden chair opposite her, not breaking eye contact.

"Hi," the girl coughed awkwardly.

"Hello," Larissa nodded. The girl suddenly broke eye contact with her, clearly wimping out of whatever she was going to ask. "What's your name?" Larissa promoted her impatiently.

"Jessie," was the girls immediate answer. Larissa raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "My name is Jessie. And your name...is Copperhead. One of Gotham's deadliest assassins, they've been after you for a while now right?" Larissa glanced around her before leaning forward slightly, caught off guard completely by her statement.

"How do you know who I am?" she growled quietly. Jessie leaned back a little - but it was clear that her confidence was growing.

"Don't worry about that. Let me just get down to why I'm here. I need you to give me information," she muttered. Larissa let out a giggle and sat back again.

"Oh you silly little girl," she tutted. "I'm not here for this kind of rubbish. I haven't got time to play games." Jessie didn't look fazed by her attitude and Larissa didn't like that. "I don't _give_ information, I _get_ the information."

"I _need_ you to give me information," Jessie repeated a little quieter. Larissa sat back even further in her chair and kept her hands in her lap with amusement now dancing in her eyes. Jessie took this as her time to talk again, so she took a deep breath before saying, "I need you to tell me everything you know about The Joker."

Larissa felt her heart plummet further down her chest. It was suddenly getting too warm in there now.

"The…Joker?" was Larissa's first hiss, going into some sort of trance. Jessie's eyes darted to hers as soon as the name came out of her mouth.

"Do you know him?"

"Whether I know him or not - you're not getting anything out of me," Larissa whispered lightly, snapping out of it. She was aware that West was watching from against the back wall - she could feel his eyes trained on them both.

" _Why not_?" Jessie asked exasperatedly, running her hands through her tangled hair. Larissa saw that she was slowly stressing out. She must've been her last or one of her last options to find this guy. "He's an ex client right? So you have no ties to him whatsoever."

"That's exactly why you silly girl," Larissa spelt it out for her. "I don't release information on ex clients or current clients. It breaks a code." That wasn't why she wasn't releasing information, she knew that.

"What code? You don't have a code. You're a one man team," Jessie pointed out.

"Your point?"

"There is no code."

"I created the code."

"I'm not looking for an address. I just want something on him, like what was he like? Did you ever speak to him directly? Did-"

"Alright, we're done here," Larissa cut her off immediately.

"No! No we're not," Jessie suddenly snapped. Larissa sighed before lunging forward fiercely, so that she was bent over the table and right in Jessie's face. Jessie flinched back, finding her more petrifying now that she was up close. Her pupils were turning into slits in the middle of her eyes, and her now forked tongue was quickly flickering out of her mouth. Before she could blink twice, West had already pinned her down and injected something into her neck to somewhat sedate her. Larissa immediately fell limp and West picked her up and flung her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing.

"Apologies ma'am," was all West told Jessie before turning around and carrying Larissa back to her cell. It was only when Jessie knew that Larissa was safely contained, that she realised she was holding her breath for that entire time in pure fear.

"You smell nice," Larissa whispered weakly as West continued to carry her. The catcalls weren't coming now. "And I thought you said no contact?" West rolled his eyes and casually unlocked her cell door, throwing her in there onto the floor. Of course, Larissa landed on her feet, as woozy as she was. She would've broken pretty much every bone if she wasn't so skilled.

"Goodnight Dias," West hummed before slamming the door shut and locking it again. Larissa groaned and sat up, going through that day's events. Jessie needed to get to The Joker for whatever reason – so did she. Jessie was clearly determined – so was she.

The only problem was that she knew that the tiniest part of her now icy heart still beat for the man that betrayed her.

 **A/N: OKAY so I would like to say thank you SO much for all your amazing reviews, thank you for following this story. I have never written a story that grows the speed this one has, I'm honestly honoured and flattered you guys like Copperhead so much! Do you think she should completely let go of The Joker and go full blown badass or do you still see them together? – J x**


	4. Chapter 4 - Giving In

The next morning, the heavy door opened again, letting light flood into the miserable cell. Larissa was still peacefully asleep on one of the beams, with a leg resting and the other casually dangling off the narrow wooden platform. She was asleep but well aware of her surroundings at the same time - her senses told her that West was about to come back since she heard him down the hall, so when the door opened, it wasn't a shock. "Dias!" he called out roughly. Larissa sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She crawled out of the darkness before jumping onto the floor and onto her feet, not bothered for playing games today. Her hair, although still slightly messy, was draped over her shoulders instead of being up in a wild bun. West felt his eyes involuntarily light up at the sight of her, but he had no idea why. There was no denying her beauty. Her slightly sinister, strangely addictive yet snakelike beauty. "Ah, there you are. Not playing hide and seek today?" Larissa didn't speak, she didn't want to. West frowned at her silence, feeling a little unnerved. "What, you in a mood with me today? Did I do something?"

"Did you do something? Don't think I don't remember that you stuck a damn needle in my neck yesterday," Larissa blinked up at him from where she sat herself cross legged on the floor. "I'm really not happy about that and I will be getting you back for it. Eventually. Wait on it." West clenched his jaw and acted like he wasn't bothered when really he was a solid mix of scared and apologetic.

"Oh don't be like that. You got all up in that poor girls face for no reason. I had to do it," he grunted. Larissa rolled over toward him and once she reached his heavy boots, slowly stood up so that they were around an inch apart. Larissa could hear West's breathing pattern change and felt the vibrations from his heartbeat quicken.

"Tu corazón..." she breathed as she stared deep into his eyes. West broke eye contact immediately, feeling ridiculously uncomfortable. "Your...heart..." West stared back into her eyes before blinking out of it and shaking his head.

"You have a visitor Dias," he ended up clearing his throat, tearing his eyes away from her. "And it's the same girl. Try any funny business and it won't just be syrum that you'll digest."

"What does that even mean?" Larissa scoffed playfully as she held out her hands again with her eyes still trained on him as he cuffed her. She slowly realised that she had him wrapped around her finger already - which she absolutely adored. This was the power she craved – this was the power she needed to get out.

Walking down the hallway was the bit that Larissa could do without. She heard the prisoners all grunt and breathe heavily as they watched her walk past through the little windows of their own cells. She tried to embrace it and not let it get to her that much, just like The Joker told her to – but she really couldn't. She didn't have the heart to, because every single movement reminded her of him. "What happened pretty lady? Why so sad?" one of them yelled from behind his bars. Larissa shrugged the yells off and continued to walk to the meeting room where Jessie sat again, in the exact same clothes. Even her expression looked the same – but those large dark blue eyes were longing beyond anything else.

Desperate.

Larissa shoved herself into the chair opposite her once more.

"Hello again," Jessie hummed, looking dead into her eyes. Larissa said nothing – she simply waited for her to continue. "I guess you're not surprised to see me here? Well I don't give up easily." Larissa rolled her eyes and continued to stay silent, which Jessie couldn't take anymore. Her anxiety was clearly getting the better of her. "Please, Copperhead. I need your help."

"For what?" Larissa finally asked.

"To find The Joker," Jessie stressed with a hiss.

"Why did you come to me?" Larissa questioned her calmly, intrigued.

"Because we have intelligence that states you were the last person that he had a deal with," Jessie explained with a grimace. Larissa's eyes darkened. How would she even know?

"Who ARE you?" she muttered. Her tone was wavering on fearful at this point.

"Just a girl with a request. That's it. I need to see him, I don't wanna hurt him. I just want to ask him something," Jessie insisted, running her hands through her hair. Larissa closed her eyes and put all of her concentration on her senses around her. She felt it, in her brain. She could feel Jessie's heartbeat. It was steady – so she wasn't lying.

She genuinely just wanted help. And Larissa did need to get out. In fact they were both after the same thing.

"Intelligence?" Larissa suddenly remembered. "Where did you get this…intelligence?" Jessie swallowed and clamped her mouth shut. It was clear that she didn't want to divulge her sources but she couldn't risk losing her focus and attention.

"I…I've been following him for a while now, but I can't talk to him alone. That's why I came to her," Jessie admitted with a slight blush. Larissa leaned back in her chair and stared at her, thinking it over the best she could. There was a look of urgency in Jessie's eyes and something in Larissa pinged.

"You don't want to hurt him?" she muttered, not breaking eye contact. Jessie gave a shallow gasp and shook her head so quickly that she felt her neck click.

"I promise." Larissa sighed and nodded, nibbling down on her bottom lip.

"Fine." Jessie breathed out and immediately relief washed over her. This was all she wanted and Larissa could tell. "What's the plan? When do you want me out of here?"

"Soon, I want to get you out of here as soon as possible. I'll have to think of a way-" Larissa cut her off with a giggle and shook her head.

"You don't think of the plan. I think of the plan. You think of the date, the time and the place," she whispered. "Come back and let me know and I'll be out." Jessie recoiled slightly, not really believing her.

"Wait, how are you gonna do that?"

"Seriously? You really don't know? I'm in here by choice, not by force," Larissa smirked as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

"You could always get out?"

"Of course I could always get out." Jessie found herself staring at her, slightly impressed. She knew that Larissa was talented but this was a type of talent that she wasn't expecting.

"So you need me to come back?" she whispered as her eyes darted around her to make sure nobody was listening.

"Unless you have a date and time in your head now?" Larissa shrugged, becoming equally as vigilant.

"I mean…how does tomorrow sound? Night time of course, it will be easier to hide in the shadows," Jessie pointed out with a hum.

"That's fine," Larissa agreed as she leaned in a little closer. "I know there's a bank down there…we can meet at the doors? I'm guessing it's still there." Jessie frowned slightly at such a random suggestion but nodded again.

"Yeah, there is. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You came all this way to beg for my help again and when I finally say yes, you want to double check that I'm sure about helping you?" Larissa laughed, a little confused but bewildered by her attitude.

"Yeah. I gotta make sure. It's not going to be easy to track him down," Jessie explained quickly. Larissa chewed the inside of her cheeks and sat back again in her chair again.

It is easy to track someone you love.

She used to do it all the time.

…

-FLASHBACK-

 _5 months earlier_

"Ready or notttt, here I come!" Larissa whispered in the abandoned house as she tiptoed over the old wooden floors. Not a sound came from the distance, in fact it was eerily quiet. She stopped walking just before the staircase which led to the murky depth of upstairs. She had to freeze so that she could listen properly. The only thing she felt was the steady thump of her own heartbeat. Heat, where was the heat source? Not downstairs, that's for sure. Larissa grabbed the edge of the bannister that was connected to the stairs and heaved herself up as quietly as possible, not making any sudden movements as she didn't know how stable the furniture was. She slid up silently, her snakelike agility supporting her every move. Once she reached the top of the staircase she hopped off and landed on her feet in a crouched position before quickly crawling into the nearest room. It looked like it used to be a bathroom, but the light wouldn't work and the toilet lid was on the thick dust coated floor. Larissa crawled past it and ended up in the bedroom. Immediately, her senses lit up and she felt the presence in there. She could feel the heat of another person and she knew. "I've got you now," she whispered, standing up straight and tiptoeing so lightly that it looked like she was floating. She knew exactly where he was – in the wardrobe. As soon as she opened it, he suddenly flung himself out and shoved her to the wall closest to them.

"You found me but I still beat you," The Joker growled, his lips inches apart from hers. "You let me tackle you. You've been better than that before baby."

"I have?" Larissa giggled playfully. She could see the glint of the metal in his teeth even though it was pitch black. "Try and move your hands." The Joker blinked at her and attempted to shift his hands but found that he couldn't - something was forbidding him. Somehow, Larissa had swiftly cuffed his hands together between her finding him and him pushing her against the wall. The Joker's face swapped from confusion, to realisation, and then a mix of admiration and pride.

"That's my girl," he muttered. Larissa beamed at him, unable to tear her eyes away from him as usual as she hooked her arms around his neck. "That's my girl."

…

"Yeah, it's going to be difficult," Larissa decided to tell Jessie with a fake grimace. "It's going to be very difficult in fact. But I'm sure we'll get him in the end. I'm almost certain of it."

 **A/N: I started university again and found it difficult to continue writing, but now I'm back in the swing of things, the story is back! Thank you SO much for the follows and reviews, honestly it makes my day and I cannot believe so many of you like this story already! Going to make it the best I can for you all. – J x**


	5. Chapter 5 - Curtain Call

It was all tactical. Larissa knew what she had to do and she already had an idea on how to do it. But it was all tactical.

If she made one wrong move, one wrong slip up, the guards could shoot her on sight and she couldn't risk that. She was too close to getting out for her life to be cut in half like that. She was good at what she did, almost too good sometimes. But that didn't stop her from being able to make some silly, difficult and possible life threatening mistakes in many of the moves she made. Usually, it was The Joker that got her out of sticky situations.

But he wasn't here anymore. She was on her own.

Larissa couldn't even sleep that night, but she didn't want to. She really couldn't bring herself to close her eyes for longer than a few seconds at a time. So she sat there on the beam, preparing for the breakout of a lifetime. All she had to do was wait. Wait for the man that she knew would be there eventually.

And he came.

"DIAS," came his booming voice as soon as the sun rose. Larissa cracked an eye open and lay across the beam with her leg dangling down as usual. She put on the character, she put on her act. She needed this to be as professional as possible – this was her curtain call.

One shot, that's all she had.

"Hola soldado," she called down to him. West looked up at her and gave a small smile.

"Back on the beam again I take it?" he chuckled quietly, watching Larissa slide down the walls and onto the floor once again.

"Yes. Of course I am," Larissa sang. Her heart was pounding and she felt the nerves begin to crawl through her veins. She carefully rose to her feet and stood directly opposite him with the upmost amount of confidence. West felt himself get lost in her orbs once again and cleared his throat. He wasn't going to let this happen, not today. "Baby, baby…you look so scared," Larissa cooed, reaching a delicate hand and cupping his stubbly face in the slowest, most deliberate manner.

"Are you surprised? I'm kinda standing right across one of the world's largest assassins," West joked, even though he felt like all the moisture had gone from his throat, if not his entire body.

"Is THAT what they call me?" Larissa gasped innocently, clutching her chest with the hand that wasn't resting on his face. She slowly brought his face closer to hers, no sudden movements.

1…2…3.

She had to count the seconds in her head. It was all planned out.

…

-FLASHBACK-

 _4 months earlier_

"Sweetie, I'm gonna teach you something real important and I need you to listen up," The Joker growled one evening as he and Larissa sat in the crowded member's bar of a drinking lounge of some sort. Everyone was half naked, there was a lot of alcohol and classical music playing. Larissa didn't feel right, if anything she felt extremely nauseous and dizzy, without knowing why. But she still focussed her attention on The Joker and what he was saying to her. "Are ya listening?"

"I'm listening," Larissa drawled, crawling over the red sofas and landing her head in his lap. The Joker grabbed her cheeks with his hands and pulled her face towards him.

"We're gonna blow this place up," he hummed through gritted teeth, barely opening his mouth. Larissa blinked at him lazily and stuck her tongue out, mocking his idea already.

"Now whyyyy would we do that?" she yawned.

"No, the question is, why not?" The Joker corrected her quickly. "Now listen up. Downstairs, we have people already setting up."

"When did you plan this?" Larissa suddenly asked, attempting to lift her head a little higher. It felt like her skull had become a heavy weight and found it difficult to keep it straight or to hold it up for more than a few seconds at a time.

"Less questions baby, more thinking. Now. You have the most important job in the entire world. Your job is to drop the match," The Joker whispered. Larissa chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged demurely.

"Okay. How do I do it? What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to count. Every single movement you do, you count," The Joker hummed. Larissa frowned and lazily stood up so that she could collapse in his lap with her arms hooked around his neck.

"Count? What do you mean?"

"Seconds. I mean everything is done is seconds. If you don't count correctly you can possibly get left behind. And I know you don't wanna get left behind," The Joker shook his head pitifully, leading Larissa to subconsciously copy him and shake her head too.

"And…and if I do get left behind?"

"You go kaput," The Joker stated simply, grinning down at her. "Alongside the rest of this place. I can't protect you forever. You gotta learn for yourself."

…

 _NOW_

"West," Larissa breathed out, snapping out of the flashback she had just experienced. "I know you don't think I'm that scary." West scoffed and opened his mouth to say otherwise – but Larissa interrupted him with a sudden gentle kiss. West pulled himself away a second later. His eyes were darting from her own eyes to her lips, complete confusion drowning his pupils.

"No contact! DAMNIT Dias, you know there's strictly no contact!" he shouted, shoving her to the floor. Larissa hissed as her back collided with the ground, but continued to measure her breathing and to count the seconds she had thought of.

1, 2, 3. Keep cool, keep cool.

Larissa stood up straight, not giving up. She wasn't done, but West looked shaken up and above all, confused. "Why would you do something as stupid as that? It's like you WANT me to hurt you!" he spluttered, taking several steps back as Larissa continued to take some steps forward.

"West, come on," she whispered enticingly, grabbing his hand before he could reach for a weapon. "Nobody would know. Not a soul." West gulped and felt himself go limp, unsure of what he was feeling.

"Dias…please…don't." Larissa smirked and reached for his other hand, but gasped sharply as she felt the needle sink in the side of her neck. Her eyes begin to cloud over and she staggered backwards, feeling her pulse speed up and then slow down at various points.

8, 9…10?

…

-FLASHBACK-

 _Same day as before, just a little later on._

"Okay, you're up princess," The Joker's chuckle fed through her earpiece. Larissa cleared her throat as she propped herself up at the bar a little straighter, looking directly ahead of her as she plonked the small device into the tall glass of dark coloured alcohol next to her. The silk dress she was wearing, although it was clinging to all the right parts of her body, was making her feel hot and uncomfortable all of a sudden. Larissa smiled at a man who was approaching her, no doubt to try and seduce her.

"Hey there," Larissa smiled, flicking her hair behind her shoulder.

"Hi hottie. Lookin for a good time?" the man asked cheekily. Larissa shrugged, letting a smile crawl onto her face.

"Oh yeah, but I just ordered one too many drinks," she explained loudly over the music. The guy's eyes flicked from the glass back to her a little apprehensively, unsure on whether she was being serious. "You don't have to take it, I'll find someone else to give it to, it's no problem," she assured him, giving him a short smile and turning around again. The man left a few dubious seconds before snatching the glass and gulping it down in one go, slamming it back onto the bar.

"WOWWWW!" he whistled, slamming his chest repeatedly as the drink took its course. "That sh*t is FIERY!" This gave Larissa the opportunity to speak back to her boss.

"We have lift off," she mumbled as quietly as possible before standing to her feet again and turning back to the poor guy. "I know, that's why I drink it," she faked a smile and grabbed her purse.

"Time to count baby," came The Joker's drawl into her ear. Larissa did as she was told and counted to 4 before saying her next line, just like he told her to. Timing was everything. Especially now the guy had just swallowed an explosive, she only had a short amount of time to work with.

"Well I'm so sorry, but I have to get to the bathroom. I'll be back – in fact I'll meet you on the dancefloor," she gave him a graceful curtsey and threw him a wink as she turned around and started to walk out, counting again.

"No, wait!" the guy called out. Larissa stopped counting and started to panic as he grabbed her hand and spun her around. "Can I come with you? If you know what I mea-"

"Baby you're behind schedule," The Joker warned her lowly, leading Larissa to panic already. She snatched her hand out of his own and blundered blindly down the steps, knowing that now she was in trouble when she could hear him run after her.

"I said, STOP!" the man snapped, making Larissa freeze at sound of a click of a gun. She didn't even want to turn around, and The Joker wasn't speaking in her earpiece anymore.

Now she had no idea how much time she had left. And that's exactly what he told her not to lose track of.

...

 _NOW_

Larissa knew that the next few seconds were important. West had already backed out of the room in a hurried panic, but stupidly – he didn't close the door behind him, assuming that she would be too weak from the serum to even try and get out.

But he had underestimated her once again.

Larissa suddenly stood up straight, fixing her hair and clearing her throat. Weakened? Never. That fluid in her skin was like water in her veins – didn't do much. Larissa had the gift of acting, she liked to play along where people assumed she was weak. What the guards failed to realise, was that each and every time they injected that syringe into her, it did absolutely nothing physically apart from blur her vision and make her dizzy and slightly more compliant.

She would know – The Joker used the same serum on her all the time to get her to do what he wanted.

Larissa knew this was her time and she couldn't wait any longer. Seconds counted, she knew that much. She ran straight out of the cell and practically flew down the hallway, skidding across the stone floor and lightly skimming her way past the cells. She ignored the catcalls and the 'HEY, TAKE ME!'s that she heard from various prisoners, and she especially ignored the sound of sirens and the 'LOCKDOWN' alert blaring through the speakers, she had one goal and she was so, so close to finishing it. And then – a problem.

"STAND DOWN, COPPERHEAD!" the voice of David Stone suddenly rang from above her, just as it did when she was first there. "COPPERHEAD. STAND. DOWN." The lights in the entire entrance hall went off and the bright white glare of various torches shone down on top of her. Larissa squinted at the harshness and looked up, face to face with one of her biggest enemies.

"You don't have to this Stone!" Larissa yelled back, as if it really made a difference. "Let me walk free and no men die." The guards all looked from the heaving Larissa and back to Stone, who stood there with his arms crossed.

"I don't think you're in the position to be making deals," Stone chuckled sadly, giving the soldiers the signal. Larissa took a deep breath and started counting again, rolling up her sleeves.

"WAIT! Sir, HOLD FIRE!" came a voice that Larissa recognised immediately. Stone clicked his fingers and the soldiers relaxed, now a little confused.

"Damn," she hissed as West came forward, fear and plea plastered all over his face. He approached her cautiously with slow steady steps. "Stop," Larissa murmured.

"West?" Stone called down, his tone reaching warning levels.

"Sir, I got this," West assured him. The soldiers all glanced at each other with dubious looks on their faces as their eyes were glued to the fiasco unfolding in front of them. Larissa was frozen in apprehension as West placed his hand on the small of her back, trying to calm her down. He was reaching in his pocket for something, and Larissa knew what it was. "Be good, Dias," he mumbled before stabbing the syringe into her neck once again, waiting for her to fall limp. Waiting.

Waiting.

They were all waiting.

But to their horror, it never came.

"I'm sorry soldado," Larissa muttered blandly. Suddenly in the space of a second, she grabbed the syringe and yanked it out of her own neck and into the left of West's chest instead, leaving the surprise in his eyes as he staggered backwards, blindly reaching for the needle to try and take it out as the pain set in and his heart began to slow down at an alarming pace. But it was in too deep for that.

"Sometimes you kill to get what you want, sometimes you kill to get what you want, sometimes you kill to get what you want," Larissa whispered to herself, repeating the words the The Joker once told her as every single one of the soldiers started to fire at her from the balconies and she witnessed the life and light slowly flicker out of West's eyes.

 **A/N: Okay so this story nearly has 200 follows – ridiculous. Only done 4 chapters and I'm not even into the deep part of the story yet. Thank you SO much for all your support, Copperhead is my favourite villain ever and being able to take that character and rehash her is just incredible. Love you all – J x**


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